News and Calendar of Events
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2008 - 2009 Recent Events:
September 30, 2008: "Before the Valley of the Kings: Egypt’s Last Royal Pyramids" by Dr. Stephen Harvey (Michel and Nelly Abemayor Lecture in Egyptian Art and Archaeology of the Archaeological Institute of America) at 8 PM in Miller Hall, Room 114.
The pyramids at Giza and hidden royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings (ancient Thebes) are among the best-known features of ancient Egyptian civilization. Despite their basic familiarity, however, little is understood about theprocess by which the pharaohs chose to abandon the earlier pyramidal form in favor of roc
k-cut burials, a transition that took place at the outset of Egypt’s New Kingdom. Surprisingly, the best evidence for this change in royal tomb concepts may be found not at Thebes but at the sacred site of Abydos in southern Egypt, where the last Egyptian royal pyramids were constructed by King Ahmose (ca 1550-1525 BCE). Near the pyramids that the pharaoh constructed for himself and in honor of his grandmother Tetisheri, Ahmose also carved out a rock-cut tomb of a type best known from later king’s tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Excavations at Abydos since 1993 are beginning to provide a fascinating look into the artistic and architectural innovations of Ahmose’s reign, including unique depictions of King Ahmose’s defeat of the Hyksos, rulers of Syro-Palestinian origin who had dominated northern Egypt for a century. Given that not tomb or temple for King Ahmose has ever been discovered at Thebes (modern Luxor), the Abydos monuments are of great importance, and this lecture will explore the intriguing possibility that the pharaoh was intended to be buried in one of the mortuary structures built by him at that site.
October 30, 2008: "Readings from Homer's Epics" by Dr. Stanley Lombardo ('65) at 7:00 pm in Nunemaker Auditorium, Monroe Hall (3rd floor).
Dr. Stanley Lombardo (A'65) will be at Loyola to read from his translations of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. His presentation will include discussion about the epics and their performance both in antiquity and modern times. His visit coincides with the performance by Aquila Theatre Company who are using Dr. Lombardo's translations as the basis for their production of "Homer's Iliad: Book One" on November 1. Dr. Lombardo's lecture/performance will provide excellent background for people who plan to attend the Saturday evening performance and want to know more about Homer and his world.
November 1, 2008: Aquila Theatre Company, performing "Homer's Iliad, Book I", Roussell Performance Hall, 7:30 pm.
February 9, 2009: "Picturing the Dead. Representing Individuals on the Mosaics of Late Roman North Africa " by Dr. Susan T. Stevens (James Russell Lecture of the Archaeological Institute of America) at 8 PM in Miller Hall, Room 114.
In June 2006 a group of extraordinary and perfectly preserved Christian tomb mosaics, dated to the mid-4th to the mid 5th c. CE, were discovered in an underground building attached to an extensive and hitherto unexplored system of burial tunnels (catacombs) in Lamta, Tunisia (ancient Leptiminus). The mosaic grave markers are unusual because they in
corporate figures, including portraits of the deceased and images of the Good Shepherd and represent a balance of formulaic elements and and realistic detail. The lecture sets the new discoveries in the context of the well-attested tradition of mosaic markers cut into the floors of churches and catacomb tunnels in North Africa. It also illustrates how the naturalistic style, sophisticated use of color and materials and careful execution of these tomb mosaics relate them to floor mosaics of the North African realistic tradition depicting individuals engaged in scenes of contemporary life.
March 24, 2009: "In Search of the “Last” of the Phoenicians" by Dr. Sharon Herbert (The Charles Eliot Norton Memorial Lectureship of the Archaeological Institute of America) at 8 PM in Miller Hall, Room 114.
The Phoenician traders who crisscrossed the Mediterranean from the 10th through the 4th centuries BCE have long been recognized as critical contributors to the so-called orientalizing movements in Greece, North Africa and Spain. Recent scholarship has shown that these merchants were not mere conveyors of the artistic products of Assyria and Persia, but also producers of their own highly recognizable and influential artistic merchandise. After the conquests of Alexander the Great, however, the Phoenicians almost totally drop out of the archaeological and literary record, although there are convincing signs that a distinct Phoenician cultural identity continued to flourish in the Hellenistic and Roman eras.
This lecture, based on finds discovered by the speaker in excavations at Tel Anafa (1978-86) and Tel Kedesh of the Upper Galilee (1997--), presents the evidence for continuing Phoenician presence and contributions to the Hellenistic world. Of particular interest is a group of 2000+ clay sealings found in the Kedesh excavation. These carry the impression of individual seal rings. The representations come predominantly from the Greek mythological repertoire; there are numerous portraits—both Greek and Roman in style-- and a few seals with Phoenician symbols. Particularly interesting are a large group of Isis and Osiris seals, which document the penetration of Egyptian cult into the Phoenician hinterland in the early 2nd c BCE. The Kedesh archive presents a unique reflection of the mixed cultural milieu of the Hellenistic Levant, and can inform us in ways never before possible on issues of self-representation, interaction and personal identity among Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans.